


These Things Happen

by Ironenby



Category: it 2019 - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Reddie, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25470382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironenby/pseuds/Ironenby
Summary: POV: the first words your soulmate says to you appear on your wrist when you turn 16Eddie Kaspbrak has been with his soulmate, Myra for a few years, now. He’s settled into the life made for him, but things start to change when the words on his wrist change.Richie Tozier had thought he’d found his soulmate years ago, but now his soulmates found somebody new and left him alone again.
Relationships: Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think it’s important to note that I think a person can have multiple soulmates throughout their life! These don’t have to be romantic partners, but just somebody that helps you learn about yourself and grow as a person.

Sitting in a locked bathroom, Eddie Kaspbrak stared at the new message on his wrist. It wasn’t there last week - he could be sure of that much. 

Myra had forced him to show off at one of her gatherings. It was a whole choreographed number between them, the story of how they met. She’d tell the story and prompt him to follow the script, showing off the line on his wrist when cued. They’d done it a thousand and one times. 

But that was last week. He hadn’t noticed when it had changed. He hadn’t witnessed the shift in letters. 

This week, his wrist read something entirely new. This week, he held his arm under the sink and tried to scrub the words off with soap. He knew that wouldn’t work. It didn’t work when he was eighteen and decided he didn't believe in soulmates, either. What good would it be, either way? 

“Fuck.” Eddie breathed, pulling his arm away seeing his skin rubbed pink and a fresh, new tattoo reading ‘That's what she said, Doc.' 

On top of everything else, this was somewhat unnerving to him - Would they be a patient of his? Would they be a concerned parent or partner or friend of a patient of his? Why was he even thinking about this? It's a glitch. He doesn't have a new soulmate. That's impossible. Isn't it? It's impossible for him. He was Myra's soulmate. 

Make up. Myra has make up he can use to cover it up. He dug through the drawers and found the foundation - which almost certainly was not a match for his skin, but the man was desperate - and started applying it to his arm. Only after he’d finished covering and blending and attempting to make it look reasonably arm-like, did he acknowledge the reality: The words disappearing would still be concerning to his supposed-soulmate. He despondently put the makeup back where he’d found it. 

He sighed, washing his hands one last time and left the restroom. He wore a long sleeve shirt, that day, and grimaced at the thought of the makeup stain that would find home on the inside of the sleeve.

He tried not to think about it as Myra kissed him Goodbye for the day. 

\---

Eddie tried to focus on work, rather than trying to face the issue. He'd decided it was for certain some kind of glitch in this weird system. It must have been. So he’d ignore it until it fixed itself. He was able to forget about it completely while he worked. It was easy: His work involved saving lives and he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a personal crisis. He needed to focus.

When he got home, showered and noticed it was still the new phrase, he decided to give it a few days. Surely, it had to be a glitch. It will change back. 

\--

“Wh-what are you do-doing here, Eddie?” Bill asked, “How d-did you even know I- I’d b-be home?” 

“I didn’t.” Eddie admitted, and entered as though he were a resident who’d simply lost his key. “I’m freaking out.” 

“Yeah, I c-can see that.” Bill commented, watching his friend pace back and forth in his living room. 

“The words changed. On my wrist. It’s entirely different.” 

“That’s new.”

“You’re telling me.” 

Eddie took to sitting on the floor, hunched over the coffee table and organizing it’s decorations, which made Bill grimace a tad. 

“Have you t-told her y-yet?” 

“No.” Eddie answered, before pausing his movements entirely. “Does that count as cheating? Am I cheating?” 

Bill hated to see his friend so distraught. “No, not unless you’re seeing this one behind her back.” 

“I’m not.” Eddie affirmed, and let out a breath, “I haven’t met them yet.” 

Bill hesitated with what to say next. He’s really not sure how to help. He’d only just met his own soulmate recently, and they’ve hit it off quite well. “Maybe you sh-should t-talk to Georgie.”

Eddie looked up at him. “What? Why?” 

“Well, he m-might re-relate to.. to what you’re going through.” 

“Right.” Eddie said, though he wasn’t sure about it. He wasn’t sure how similar their situations were. “Yeah, I’ll try talking to him.” 

\---

Sat in a restaurant booth, Eddie’s food remained untouched. Listening to Eddie, Georgie casually munched on his fries. He opened his mouth once or twice to chime in, when he thought there might be a pause, but failed to get any words out in time before Eddie was speaking again. 

“I think you should tell her.” Georgie says, once Eddie’s long winded, panicked and rambled summary was finished. “She’s going to find out eventually.” 

“I’m not going to tell her. Are you insane?” 

“You should definitely tell her. Hiding it will drive you insane, and it’ll just make things worse. It’s not worth it, Eddie.” 

“What if it changes back, though?” 

“It won’t.” Georgie stated, “Are you even happy with her?” 

Eddie frowned. “What?” 

"Are you happy?" 

"That's not the point."

There's a pause, that frustrated Eddie to no end. 

“You know, I don’t have a soulmate.” 

Eddie’s frown deepened. “Yeah. I know.” 

“I used to.” 

“What?” 

Georgie pulled up his sleeve, showing off his wrist: blank. “When I first noticed the words had vanished, I felt relieved. And **then** I panicked. Tried to hide it, for a bit. That was miserable.” 

“This is different.” Eddie asserted. 

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Georgie sighed. “I just don’t think this stuff happens by accident.”

“What— What’s even the point of a soulmate if it’s not for life? Isn’t that like, the whole point. Your perfect match?” 

“I don’t think so. I think it’s more about finding ourselves and our place in life.” 

“What?” 

“I’m just saying - I don’t think any of it was or is a mistake.”

Eddie was prepared to throw himself into the ocean, at this point. “It’s definitely a mistake.”

“Yeah, well. You should definitely tell her, dude.” 

This is not what Eddie wanted to hear. He waved a waiter over to get the check. 

\--- 

Days passed and Eddie still hadn't found the right moment to tell Myra. He tried, once or twice, but something had always stopped him. Something like Myra having a guest over, or the bad day she'd had, or simply the unending and downright smothering affection she'd had for him - he couldn't tell her they weren't soulmates anymore. He couldn't hurt her like that, right after she'd given him some kind of gift. Right after she reaffirmed how much she loved and needed him. 

He realized the problem was not fixing itself a few days ago, at this point. He'd taken to trying to find some kind of solution online. There were a lot of videos with a block color background and popular songs that detailed weird and questionable instructions on 'how to change your soul-sentence!' He knew these were fake, probably some desperate person making an attempt at getting views. Still, he tried an embarrassing amount of these rituals. 

These are the events that lead up to Myra, finding him in the kitchen, placing dill pickle slices over his arm. They stared at each other, for what felt like an eternity, and Eddie had to confront a few things at once: Firstly, he had just placed pickles on his arm, in an attempt to complete some ritual that he knew wouldn't work. The juice was trickling down to his elbow. He wanted to puke. Secondly, Myra had _caught_ him doing so, and was definitely going to have questions. Thirdly, he realized, he would have to tell Myra. 

"We're not soulmates." Eddie said.

"I know." Myra replied.

The pickles fell off of Eddie's arm, as he lowered it to his side. They stared at each other for a long moment. 

"H-" 

"I've known for a couple weeks."

"Weeks?" 

She lifted her arm, to show him that her own wrist had changed. Blank, like Georgie's. 

"For _weeks_ , Myra?"

She shifted uncomfortably, which almost makes Eddie feel bad for questioning her. Until he remembers how absolutely terrible the last few days have been, with him obsessing over this. 

"Why?" 

"I didn't want to lose you, Eddie-bear." 

He cringed, and has a wave of extra feelings that he doesn't quite want to be dealing with at this moment. "Don't call me that." He pinched the bridge of his nose, and dealt with the wave of his pickle scented arm. Why did he do that? He knew it wouldn't work. He let out a breath. 

"I'll pack my stuff, tomorrow." He decided, as he walked over to the sink to wash his arm. He wasn't sure how to feel when he felt her arms wrapping around him. He just knew it wasn't good. He didn't say anything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the midst of post-break up sulking, Richie gets to meet his soulmate.

Richie always found a silver lining on his shittiest days - Material was much easier to write. He tested most of the jokes on Stan, through texts, or Beverly and scrapped the majority of the ones that garnered a look of sympathy and a pity laugh.

"I'll admit, the jokes are very funny, Richie, but.." Bev's tone softened as she gently pulled the laptop away from the couch-sunk comedian, "Would you like to talk about it?" She set the laptop down on the coffee table as she took a seat next to him. Richie moved to pick his laptop back up, but Bev placed a hand on his chest to stop him. He frowned, and sat up a bit straighter - his back cracked and let him know he's been hunched over for too long.

"...I'm just focused, is all."

Maybe it was the jokes that Richie had been telling her all morning, but Bev didn't really buy that. Her face showed as much, with a faint grimace. "Right. Sure."

Richie's frown deepened, and he fell back into the couch. He buried his face in his hands. "No," He answered, finally. "No, I don't even want to think about it."

She took a glance at the laptop screen, before looking back at him. "Then why are you writing a whole show about it?"

He frowned, dropping his hands into his lap and letting out a long sigh. "I don't know."

There was a pause in the conversation, as Rich stared at the screen and took in just how much material he’d managed to write.

"Let's go get lunch," She said, as she stood up. "C'mon, get up. Go get dressed."

Richie didn't move, simply sulking up at her. 

"We can go to that place that sells the marshmallow pizza."

Richie was disgusted. That convinced him to get up, and head into his room to get dressed in something more than a t-shirt and boxers.

Beverly couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when she saw Richie emerge from the bedroom. From his face, it was clear he hadn't been paying much attention to the clothes he'd picked out. She still delighted in seeing him wearing what was once a retired t-shirt, reading 'Gym hair, don't care' - a perfectly innocent shirt once you get past the font that turns the word 'gym' into the word 'cum' at first glance.

"Gah, that's terrible. I really missed that shirt." She commented, laugh bubbling in her tone.

Richie blinked, and looked down at himself, and found himself smiling, too. His ex had truly hated the shirt, so Richie had stopped wearing it. It was one of his favorite shirts.

\---

“So, I ended up inviting her out for drinks, because what else are you supposed to do? And she was actually super chill about the whole thing.”

Richie was leaning on the table, listening to Bev talk. He smiled, letting out a sigh. "Thanks for pulling me off the couch."

"I'm not sure if you would've gotten up if I hadn't. You looked awful, dude."

"Right. Thanks. You're right, I'd probably be down for the next week, at least," He admitted.

There's a silence that seems to ask the question for her.

"He broke up with me." Richie said, finally officially announcing the fact. He hates the look Bev gets on her face; sympathetic and sad. Pitying. "Uh. He met.. his actual soulmate, apparently."

Bev's face shifts from pity into more of a confused horror. "What?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, too." Richie laughs, because if he didn't, he might cry. "Apparently we were never soulmates."

"But your-"

"Yeah. I know. Apparently it wasn't him, though."

"I'm so sorry, Rich."

"It's fine. I'm alright."

They both knew that wasn't true, but they silently agreed to let it go.

"Do you want to get dessert?" Richie asked, picking up the dessert menu stationed at the end of the table by the wall, and looking over it.

Bev looked at his face for a moment, before looking to the menu in his hands. "Sure. I could go for a sundae."

They enjoyed some dessert and some more gossip, and Richie relaxed into the conversation again.

\---

As they were leaving the restaurant, Richie's phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered, with a glance at Bev to communicate that he also didn't know why he was being called. "Yeah, that's me... What? What happened? No, yeah, okay. I'll be there soon."

Bev furrowed her eyebrows, a confused frown playing at her lips.

"Connor's in the hospital."

\---

Richie sat in the waiting room, leg bouncing against the floor. He leaned his head back against the wall behind his seat, running his hands over his face. Eventually, a nurse appeared before him to let him know he could enter the room, and see Connor.

Connor turned to look at him when he entered the room. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm still you're emergency contact."

"Oh."

"Yeah. What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just needed surgery."

The doctor walked into the room. "Okay, Mr. Bowers, it looks like you'll be alright. We'll be letting you go within the next few hours, after all the paperwork is done."

"Thank you."

"I'd advise that you take some time off work, and get some rest. You'll likely be a bit sore. You'll spend a lot of time in bed for the next few days."

"That's what she said, doc." Richie commented, because he couldn't stop himself.

There's a long pause.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Replied two voices at once.

Richie blinked, and exchanged a glance with Connor before the two of them were staring at the doctor.

Dr. Kaspbrak cleared his throat. "I'll get the paperwork written up, including a note for your workplace, Mr. Bowers."

"Thanks..."

Richie watched him leave the room, before looking at Connor. "Did he just s-?"

"Sounded like it."

"Are you--"

"Yeah. I'm alright. I just want to go home."

"I'll drive you."

"Thanks."

They were silent. A tense silence. Richie looked at his arm. Not the kindest first words, but given the context, maybe that was fair.

"So, uh. How's Daniel?"

"Do you really care?"

Richie didn't want to care, but he did. He frowned. "No."

Connor looked up at him. "He's fine."

"That's good."

That was where the conversation ended, falling back into an uncomfortable silence.

The doctor returned with a stack of papers for Connor. "I'll need you to sign here, and then you'll be free to go." He said, pointing to the page as he handed them over. He turned to Richie. "While he does that, you and I can talk in the hallway."

Richie nodded, stepping out into the hallway with him.

"Am I in trouble?" He asked, trying to ignore the stomach pit that told him he was - he didn't really want to get yelled at by a hot doctor after the day he's had.

"What? No," Dr. Kaspbrak furrowed his eyebrows, "Why would- No. I wanted to formally introduce myself. Eddie Kaspbrak."

Richie shook the hand Eddie held out. "Richie Tozier."

"Like, the comedian?"

"Yes, that would be me."

"You're a comedian who tells 'that's what she said' jokes?"

Richie blushed. "I'm better than that on stage."

Eddie didn't look like he entirely believed that.

"Uh." Richie looked at their hands, still connected. "I don't know how to ask this, but.. Can I.. see?"

"See..? Oh." He pulled his hand away to show the other his wrist.

"Oh. Huh." He glanced at the door of the room, "That's a lot more specific than mine."

"Is it?" A pause, "Oh. Right. Sorry, that was unprofessional of me."

"No, don't worry, I got away with cursing at school because of it." Richie looked back at him with a grin.

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, and opened his mouth to say something.

"I don't want to cut this short, but I don't know how long I can keep him waiting."

Eddie frowned, and looked into the room. "Right."

"Let me give you my number, though."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> content warning for Myra gaslighting Eddie in this chapter

"You look awful." Bill commented, as he poured a cup of coffee, and then looked at Eddie to ask if he'd like one.

"Thanks. And yes. Please."

"D-Did you g-get any sleep, l-last night?"

"About an hours worth." Eddie groaned, sitting down at the island, and leaning his head into his hands. Bill placed a mug of coffee in front of him, and leaned against the counter.

"D-do you wa-want to t-talk about it?"

"I met my soulmate, last night."

"Th-that's a g-good thing, r-right?"

"It should be," Eddie's arms fell against the counter, and he curled a hand around his cup. "I met him at work."

"Th-that bad?"

"No, I guess not. Myra'll hate him, though."

"So?"

Eddie looked up at him.

"I thought you t-two b-broke up?"

"We did."

"So, wh-why's she gotta like him?"

"She doesn't." Eddie felt a sense of relief wash over him. Then he felt a bit guilty, about it.

Bill hummed, and set his coffee down to start cooking some eggs.

"I assume you're n-not working t-today."

"Have the day off. I do have to go to Myra's and finish grabbing my stuff, though."

"G-good luck."

"Thanks. Can I get some of those?"

"Of course."

\---

"I'm just here for my things, Myra."

Myra frowned at him, as though she'd been personally insulted. She stepped aside to let him in. "You'll have to be quick. I have friends coming over in an hour."

Eddie's eyebrows furrowed as he stopped to look at her. "You usually meet with them on Fridays."

"No, I meet with them on Saturdays."

"When did that change?"

"It's always been Saturday."

"No, it hasn't, Myra."

"Yes, it has."

Eddie knew it hadn't been Saturdays. He'd planned around her Fridays for at least a year, now. He didn't say anything though, sighing out his anger and heading into the bedroom.

"You know, Eddie-bear, you can join us. If you want to."

Eddie's irritated enough about being followed into the bedroom. "Don't call me that. Your friends don't like me."

"Where'd you get that idea?"

"You told me they don't like me."

"No, my friends love you."

Eddie pulls his head out of the closet to look at her, frowning.

"They do."

"You haven't told them yet."

"Well, I just figured we're rushing to end things, and I don't know if you're really thinking rationally about this, Eddie-bear."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry."

"I'm thinking perfectly rationally."

"Well, it was like a snap decision, so how do you expect me to believe that?"

"Weeks, Myra. You lied to me for literal weeks."

"Yeah, well, you weren't being honest with me, either."

Eddie frowned, and felt a pang of guilt. "And I'm sorry about that, but we're not soulmates."

"Do we have to be? I thought we were happy."

There's a tense pause in the conversation, as the guilt that Eddie felt grew. 

"I'm just here to get my stuff."

Myra frowned, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame - forcing Eddie to accept an audience as he cleaned out the closet of his stuff. It only took about fifteen minutes for her to get bored when she realized he wouldn't be entertaining her. Eddie looked at the door when he heard it close, and let out a sigh. It was a breath of fresh air to be left alone.

"I didn't get all my stuff." He pointed out, as he stood by the door. He thought she might already know that. He thought she might've planned that.

"Shame." She pouted, with no real emotion, as she opened the door for him.

"I'm coming back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's no good, sweetie, my mother's coming to visit."

"She is?"

"I told you this."

Eddie took a deep breath. "Tell her I said hi."

"I will."

Eddie sighed, and left packing a single box into the backseat of his car.

\---

Rather than immediately heading back to Bill's place, Eddie had decided to take a drive around town in hopes to clear his mind. He wasn't really sure how he ended up at a convenience store in the middle of the snack aisle, staring down a sleeve of Oreos and debating whether or not he really wanted them and if they were really worth the $2.50. He picked them up, and set them down in a basket amongst other gross snack foods. He looked into the basket. It looked like a stomach ache. He grabbed a bottle of water, before heading to the counter.

"How are you doing today?" Asked the cashier ringing up his stuff.

"Do you think soulmates are supposed to be forever?"

The cashier looked up at him, and slowed down their scanning. "Uh. What?"

"What does it really mean to be soulmates with someone?"

"I.. don't know, sir."

"Does anyone know?"

The cashier looked down and to the side, before looking back up at him. "Your total's going to be $23.82, today."

Eddie handed them his card.

"Thank you, sir. Have a good day. Good luck with your soulmate stuff."

Eddie offered a tight-lipped smile and waved as he took his bags and left.

\---

R: <( hey, doctor soulmate guy )

R <( wanted to say it was cool to meet you )

\---

The door opened and Georgie leaned against it for only a second before standing up straight. "Oh, hey Eddie!" He greeted, with a smile, "What are you doing here? What're the bags for?" He said, eyes falling to the little back plastic bags Eddie had been holding.

"I'm kind of going through something, right now, I think? I brought snacks."

"...Well, come on in, then." Georgie said, backing up to let him inside.

Eddie set the bag down on the coffee table and sat down, sinking into the living room couch.

“Is this about Myra?” Georgie asked, as he looked through the bag at the selection of snacks. He pulled out a mini bag of Cheez-its. He handed it to Eddie, who opened it for him and handed it back.

“It’s always about Myra.”

“I heard you’ve been staying with Bill, so I can only assume the truth came out.” Georgie spilled the Cheez-its onto the coffee table, setting the packaging aside.

“She knew.”

“She knew, huh?”

“She’d been lying to me for weeks.”

“What? How’d she know if your mark hadn’t changed?” He picked up a cracker. 

“She lost hers earlier than mine changed, I guess.”

“Oh, huh. I haven’t seen that before.” He ate the cracker.

“She refuses to accept it.”

“Ah. Well, it is hard to accept such a big change.”

“Yeah. Well, I’d appreciate it if she’d act like an adult about it.”

Georgie hummed sympathetically and ate another cracker.

“Are you busy? I don’t want to go back to Bill’s yet.”

“Let me get my arm. Let’s go light off some fireworks.”

Eddie was pretty sure it was illegal to light off fireworks this time of year, but he wasn’t going to argue.

\---

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear she was doing this on purpose." Eddie groaned, closing the door behind him.

"Doing what on purpose?" Came a voice Eddie hadn't heard before.

Eddie stopped in his tracks and looked at the couch and saw a man he did not recognize. It wan't until he saw Bill that he was once again sure he'd entered the right building. He blinked.

"Oh," Bill said, registering the confusion. "This is my soulmate, Mike."

Eddie waved. "Nice to meet you, Mike."

"You too..."

"Eddie," Bill supplied, softly.

"You too, Eddie."

"What's she d-doing, now?"

Eddie looked at Bill. Then, he looked at Mike. They looked at him, expectantly. "Am I interrupting something, here?"

"Not at all." Mike answered, with a welcoming smile.

"It feels like I'm interrupting something."

"We were just t-talking a-about the d-dewey d-decimal system."

Eddie furrowed an eyebrow, trying to determine if they were fucking with him. He realized that they were not. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"She's just acting weird."

"When isn't she?" Bill asked.

Eddie frowned. There wasn't a good answer to that question. "Well," he mumbled, "She's acting weirder than normal."

"Sorry t-to hear that. D-Did you t-tell her you m-met the new guy?"

Eddie swallowed. "Uh. No. It didn't come up."

"Oh."

"I had to get my stuff really fast. She had company coming over."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "That is w-weird."

"Yeah." he said, "Anyways, I'll leave you two alone. Have fun talking about... books."

"Th-thanks."

\---

Eddie sunk into the bed, staring at the notifications on his phone. Leaving the other on read would be rude. He wasn't really sure if he was ready to start talking, though.

R: <( sorry about the 'that's what she said' joke )

Eddie's eyes widened a bit at the new notification. He read it, and smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn't ready for a real, serious conversation, but...

E: <( I might've been able to forgive you if the joke had been funny. )

R: <( ouch :( )

R: <( fair, though )

R: <( i'll be sure to bring my A-game next time i'm at the hospital )

E: <( I don't think a hospital is the best place to practice your stand up, Tozier. )

R: <( laughter is the best medicine, though :) )

R: <( i'll be like your hospital assistant person, making people laugh and curing them )

E: <( Nurse? )

R: <( Yes, doc? )

Eddie laughed, out loud.

E: <( You'd make a terrible nurse. )

R: <( Good thing I'm a comedian, instead then, I guess. )

Eddie rolled onto his side, and spent however long texting back and fourth with Richie. He relaxed, and at some point the conversation had trailed off with Eddie falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a while since I’ve written a multiple chapter fic, oops.  
> Let me know if there’s any tags I should include!!  
> I’m @Ironenby on twitter and tumblr if you wanna talk to me abt the fic 🥺👉👈


End file.
